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Life Off Grid

Our selection for National Canadian Film Day (April 20)! Also part of our 10th annual Canada Film Days!

Off-grid isn’t about someone being out of touch, about a place that is hard to get to, or about a weekend spent offline. Officially, “off grid” refers to a home or town that is disconnected from the electricity and natural gas networks that serve a region. Living off-grid, therefore, means having to radically re-invent life as we know it. It means choosing to live in a way that is dramatically innovative: a way that draws on skills of the past and is inspired by concerns for our collective future.

Life Off Grid explores the lives of Canadians in every province and territory who have made the choice to disconnect. The film explores the ways by which a variety of people, all with different environmental concerns and constraints, live away from contemporary civilization. It raises important questions about the future: questions about the struggles and successes found along our path towards a life that is environmentally and socially more sustainable. Off-grid homes are experimental labs for our collective future.

Life Off Grid is a two-year journey exploring how and why Canadians disconnect from larger infrastructures. The film explores themes of motivation and inspiration, unpacks the challenges associated with regional climates and economies, and shows how people living off the grid deal with the everyday demands of heat, light, water, food, and waste.